In September of 2004 "Big
Yohns" commissioned a one-of-a-kind brass model of his Shubert/Herbert
dragster. This page will follow the progress of the builder,
Roger "Riceman" Lee. He has built numerous models of
race cars in the past, but possibly not one which is as well
documented as this project. Photos are accompanied by commentary
from Lee.

When you want to start building
a chassis you must have some idea what scale you are about to
build, obtain the chosen scaled engine, rear axle (unless to
plan the make one out of brass or plastic), rear tire diameter
and some way of making a drive line. I always buy more than enough
brass tubing, rod ,sheet and piano wire. I want to thank Fishtanks
for sending me the 1/16 265 Small Block Chevrolet block and heads.
This may seem extreme and I just so happen to have a complete
gasket set for a SBC and a 350 cu. in. SBC in my garage. I'll
use this for dimensioning sizes and replicating bolt locations
on the now assembled 1/16 SBC long block. I made the Oil Pan
out of .016 brass sheet ( 8 pieces ) with a 3'' piece of 1/8"
brass tubing representing the driveling from information provided
by Ron "Big Yohns" Johnson, the car owner. I assembled
the block and heads with double sided tape for right now. You
need to make a Motorplate 1/4 x 20 wide x 24'' high in scale.
To make the edges perpendicular and if you don't have a square,
use a CREDIT CARD edge to scribe out the motorplate. I made one
from .016 brass sheet. Flatness and squareness of the motorplate
is critical! Debur all edges and holes. Scribe a vertical centerline,
a 3/32" wide vertical line on each side and the distance,
1/8'' below the bottom of the oil pan to the crankshaft centerline
and drill a 3/16 hole at the intersection of the centerlines.
Position and attach the motorplate to the block with double sided
tape. This can be the start of a Dragster, Funny car or Fuel
Altered chassis.Roger Lee

I stopped at
3 am and this is what was made. This was the easy part. I might
lower the motor some more.

Here is a picture of the roughed
out drive line. The ribbing on the rear end housing still has
to be done along with the clutch can details.

This is the same shot,
but with the rear section of the frame.

And you thought
I was going to find one in plastic.....NOT ! The Halibrand center
section main body and side covers were made from .016 brass sheet
with a .220 dia. x .015 wall center tube for the axle. Then a
short piece of .250 dia.x .015 wall was soldered on the the main
body for the pinion snout, a .032'' flange was soldered on for
the torque tube mount with 6 -.025 holes drilled and a .062 hole
drilled for the driveline center shaft. The center casted seam
is a ring of .047 brass rod hand filed flat to a half circle,centered
on the main body and soldered on. I then drilled 12 - .032''
equally spaced holes on one side of the center section side covers.
There are 12 ribs on both sides of the center casting seam that
are in line with the side cover bolt holes. 24 pieces of .032
brass rod were soldered and cut to length in line with the side
cover bolt holes. Now I drilled the other side cover holes in
line with the ribs. Each side cover has 12 ribs in radial pattern
from the center axle tube in line with the side cover bolt holes
which were made from .032 brass rod, soldered on to the side
covers and sawed to length to the edge of the side cover bolt
holes. Excess solder was now hand filed off, all the 48 ribs
were finished to length, shaped and deburred. I used a deburring
wheel to finish the completed Halibrand Rearend center section.
The axle is made from 3/16 dia. x .032 wall brass tubing. The
Brake Disc was scribed and cut from .032 brass sheet.The Disc
Brake Hat consist of 3/8 dia. x .015, .220 x .015 brass tubing,
two rings cut from .016 brass sheet, drilled 8-.032 dia. equally
spacers hole on the outer edge of the .500 dia. ring, filed in-between
each hole for 8 attachment flanges, centered all the pieces together
using the .220 piece of tubing and then soldered it altogether.
I then drilled threw the Disc following the pattern of holes
on the Hat flanges. 8 pieces of .032 brass rod was soldered threw
the holes on the backside of the disc, sawed off, and filled
to equal height on the hat side to replicate the Hat mounting
bolts. 67 total pieces of Brass and 20 hours later....................I
am FRIED RICE ( it turned out BITCHIN! )

After seeing what was available
for a 30-10-15 M & H slicks and 15 x 10'' small hole Halibrands
wheels, ZERO, and it was time to create. The Slicks were made
from 2 pieces of Black Delron 1 7/8 x 3/4 with a 15/16 hole.
Using a 1'' sanding roll arbor and a hand drill, the with the
soon to be slick mounted on it, I shaped the side walls scraping
the Delron with an X-acto knife to match the side wall pattern
made from brass sheet. The Halibrands started with two brass
hose end sleeves that measured 15/16 outside diameter with a
1/16 lip on one end. I made 4 rings of .047 brass rod and soldered
one ring to the outer edge of a .190'' width cut down sleeve
to make the bead edge and second step of the wheel. I filed down
the outer edge of the soldered ring flat to create the bead edge
of the wheel. Then I made using .016 brass sheet, the raised
7'' lugnut centers and drilling 5 lugnut holes and center hole
were made. The wheel center was made of the same material, drilling
and filing 4 rectangular slots and a 3/16 center hole. I shaped
a bowl 7/8'' diameter by 1/4'' deep on a piece of wood 2 x 4
and formed the wheel center using the ends of 3 different size
of rounded file handle ends. I soldered the 7/16 lugnut face
to the center piece, drilled the lugnut holes through and then
soldered the center to the rim piece. Using the remaining pieces
of the brass sleeve, I soldered a other .047 ring to the outer
edge, filed the edge flat and cut the brass sleeve down to make
the inner part of the rim. The valve stem will be made from .020
brass rod and a 1/32 sleeve of tubing for the valve stem nut.
A total of 8 pieces for each wheel.

Well lets take a lookie at it.
You said that the tallest tire this car ran was 30'' on diameter,
a shorter tire would put the shoulder tube higher and the rollbar-shoulder
hoop intersection farther back. Now add the interior on top of
the shoulder hoop which adds height and makes the rollbar looks
shorter. Maybe I'll just stick a 2 x 4 under the bottom seat
tube and kick the rear up a tad.

I got out my mini sawsall, 2x4,
heliarc and made the adjustments. The shoulder hoop now is at
a scaled 32'' with a 30'' tire. I cut the rear rollcage tube
1 1/2'' shorter and shorten the rollbar hoop 1''. Better ? Now
you can bring the recreation up here and we'll make the ''adjustments".

I just completed the Fuel Tank
with the Cap and Vent Tube. The tank body was formed from .016
Brass sheet, shaped, soldered the edge and cut to length. Then
I soldered the tank body end on to a strip of .016 brass, cut
and filed to the shape of the fuel tank body on both ends. I
pre-fitted the fuel tank in the frame and scribed a line on both
ends for the mounting flanges that were made from .090'' strip
of .016 brass. A .032'' hole was drilled and countersunk in each
flange for the 000-120 countersunk flathead slot screws that
will be representing Dzus Fasteners. The Cap and vent tube was
made from 7 pieces of brass tubing and soldered to the top of
the fuel tank. A piece of 3/64 and 1/16 brass tubing were soldered
into drilled holes for the main and return fuel lines. The tank
was finished with 1000 grit sand paper. 14 more brass pieces
were added to the list.

I made the SBC block
& heads out of brass. I still have to sleeve the block.

Here is the Nitro SBC for the
1/16 replica of the Shubert & Herbert done in brass. The
lower head bolts, spark plug holes and Zoomies are next.

Here is the Nitro
Mouse with zoomies and head detail. I started with making the
flanges three times till I got them right. Too thin of material,
then they were too long, and I went looking for pictures. 7 hours
later they are done with 22 more pieces ( 2 Flanges, 8 tubes
that were bent, and 12 simulated header bolts added to the last.
The lower head bolt castings and the so called head bolts took
32 pieces of brass tubing and rod. 13 hrs today on the SHU-HER-BERT,
I am punching out today.

This
shot is just to graphically illustrate the scale of the model.

I ran out of
Brass paint! LOL Well the 500 piece mark has been reached. I
thought thing car was going to be a piece of cake, but you only
as good as your last win or in this case, Replica. It looks so
Bitchin!

In the pass I made all my Dragster
bodies out of .016'' brass sheet. With the Shubert & Herbert
AA/FD it was time to go for the Aluminum. Using .020'' 3003-H14
aluminum sheet with a few bruised fingers and cuts it was done
in 6 hours. The four body panels were made starting with the
belly pan, then the side panels and the most challenging, the
Cowl with its compound curves. I started with a 3 x 3'' piece
of 3003 with a 5/8" U cut 1.250 deep along the centerline
off of the rear edge. I filed a 1.250'' U shaped grooved radius
along the edge of a 2x4 piece of hard wood and with a 1/2'' steel
rod to hammer out the windscreen radiused base working along
the U shaped cutout. Slap Hammering and rolling methods were
used to hit the in the way finger tips and aluminum sheet. Once
I regained my feeling in my finger tips, the top of the cowl
was formed over a 1.5'' piece of aluminum rod and then the sides
were bent to the width of the mounted side panels on the chassis
with double sided tape. The cutting and fitting of all the edges
was the next step to match the Shubert & Herbert body. Deburing
and sanding was the next step. Dzuz fasteners are yet to come.
Hey, is this how Tom Hanna or Ron Covell started?

Dzus Fasteners in 1/16 scale
? Are you nuts ? I will be using 000-120 Stainless Flathead Slot
Countersunk x .090 length screws that will thread though soldered
brass strips on the chassis, drilled, and 000-120 tapped for
the wire clip Dzus panels.

The finished aluminum
body made from .020 3003-H14 aluminum sheet.

10 HRS of fun to build? The final
results are always satisfying. The rims are 1.00 x .044 wall
copper tubing cut, hand sanded to .068 +/-.001, then finished
with 1200 grit sand paper and deburred. 4 pieces The bearing
spoke spool was made from 3/32 brass tubing with a .190 diameter
disc x .016 brass soldered on the end. A 1/16 center hole was
then drilled. Another 4 pieces were made. The spokes are .008
brass wire that was hand wound around a 10 - 1/8 diameter pin
pattern applying 1/4 pound of tension with each spoke. Two halves
make one wheel that were soldered together with a lower temp
solder so the silver soldered 40 spokes won't come apart. A center
groove was then filed for the tire O ring.

Semi-finished car staged
in a Lions Drag Strip setting.

Well, I just pass the 600 pieces.
I am currently working on the fuel lines. The main fuel line
took 17 pcs.

The drag link, windscreen, fuel
tank secured with 2 Dzus fasteners ( 000-120 stainless slotted
countersunk screws ) and the second body constructed due to recent
pictures that showed the rear part of the body.

Those famous words from
a known recreator," if it looks right, it has to be right
! " So after building the second body for the car, the rollcage
came off, again for the third time, because it didn't look right
comparing the replica to recent picture that appeared on the
Standard 1320. The rear single tube was shorten another 1/8'',
the front hoop was shorten 3/16'' and moved toward the rear of
the frame 3/16'' and resoldered. Such little changes when coming
together make such a big difference.

The Hilborn Fuel Injector Brain
started out with .093 x .015 wall Square Brass Tubing. 4 pieces,
1/2'' long of .032 x .007 Brass Tubing were cut and the ends
were deburred. Two pairs were soldered together on one end, flux
was applied on the soldered ends and inserted 1/16 into the end
of the .093 Square tubing. Heat from the Soldering Iron Tip was
applied to the end of the square tubing till the pre-soldered
inserted 4 tubes turned copper color which means there was enough
heat to join these 5 pieces together without solder showing on
the outside. Using a .005 thick razor saw I cut a line 1/32 away
from the end of the Square Tubing around the 4 tubes so it represents
the nut and hose end fittings of the nozzle fuel lines. The 4
tubes were sawed off to a length of .090'' from the edge of the
Square Tubing which will be the main body of the Brain. Two .033
holes were drilled into the front face of the F/I Brain,1/16
apart and from edge. The right hole was drilled though the back
face. Two pieces of 1/32 x .007 wall tubing was tinned with solder
and inserted into the drilled holes. The right side tube was
pushed all the way though with 1/8 '' showing out the back face.
3 pieces of .047 x .007 wall brass tubing, cut and filed to .010
thickness, tinned with solder on one side were pressed over the
two front face tubes and backside tube with the soldered side
against the Brain Body. Heat was applied at the bottom of the
Brain Body till the tinned side of the .047 tubing melted against
the Brain Body. The two front pieces of .032 tubing coming out
of the front face of the Brain Body were cut off and filed down
so just .015'' was exposed out of the .047 x .010 thick tubing.
Now the front face of the Brain body has the 2 casted machined
area with plugs where fuel return lines would go and the backside
has the raised machined area with the throttle linkage shaft
coming out and cut/deburred to 1/16'' long. The Brain body is
now cut to length. A piece of 1/16 x .015 wall tubing was tinned,coated
with flux and inserted into the right end of the Brain Body.Heat
was applied to the 1/16 tube till the solder flowed, joining
the two pieces and cut off so the 1/16 tube is .032'' exposed
out of the Brain Body. This is the inlet side where the fuel
line comes from the outlet side of the fuel shutoff valve and
fuel pump. I used a strip if .016 brass x 1/16 wide, drilled
two .033 holes 1/8'' apart, bent over one end over one of the
holes, drilled through that and sawed off the folded end of the
strip to a 1/16 square. On the other end, a tinned 1/32 x .007
wall tube was pressed on the other drilled hole, soldered into
place and cut to 1/32'' long The strip was trimmed to the edge
of the tube, a radius was filed around the tube and now filed
into a tapered shape between the .033 hole and 1/32 tube. One
throttle linkage arm done.The arm was pressed over the shaft
coming out of the backside of the Brain and soldered into position.
The F/I Brain is now soldered on to the front plate area of the
fuel injectors. Another linkage arm will be made, the link between
the arms and attached together with .020 brass rod to simulate
the pivot linkage bolts. 13 pieces for the Brain and one linkage
arm with 8 pieces to go to complete.

If you keep looking at pictures
long enough, the unseen details come out and the position of
things. I made some rear chassis adjustment and repositioned
the seat deeper into the chassis. I shortened the rear seat upright
1/8'' ( 2'' ) and raised the bottom main rail along with shortening
the rearend uprights and the uprights at the front of the seat.
The bottom seat support was also rebuilt. The rollcage was changed
again moving the rear vertical tube forward at the top and shortening
the hoop 1/16'' changing the angle a bit.

The decision for the Shubert
& Herbert Replica is to remain in it's Brass form. I made
another body out of .016 Brass sheet. As said before, the body
will mount to the chassis with 000-120 flathead countersunk screws
to replicate Dzus Fasteners.

This is a 1/16 scale Replica
of the Shubert & Herbert AA/FD in Brass Form. The slicks
are made from Black Delron Plastic. Under Construction still
at 674 handmade brass pieces.

I first drilled 4 holes, .021''
diameters into the injector body. Then I soldered in .020 brass
rod into the holes, cut and filed the ends flat to 090'' length.
Using .032 x .007 wall brass tubing, I cut off 8 pieces off at
.075 long. With these pieces, 4 offset "T " pieces
were soldered together. 4 Lengths of .020 brass rod was formed
and inserted into the 4 tubes coming out of the Injector Brain,
cut to the correct length, then the base of the "T "
were inserted over each .020 rod coming from the Brain and pressed
over each .020 rod extending out of the injector body. The fuel
lines are done. 16 pieces of brass now bring the total parts
to 671 !

I had to take a few days to think
about how I was going to make the two universal joints for the
steering connecting the steering wheel to the steering box. This
used up some more brain cells. WARNING, do not try this at home
! I first cut a slot 1/8'' deep with a .005 razor saw into the
end of a piece of 1/16 x .007 wall brass tubing. I then placed
the tube on a flat surface and with an X-acto knife I worked
it into the cut slot. Pressing down, I flattened one side, rotating
the tube to the other side I flattened that side which created
the two ears for the universal pivot shafts. I clamped the tube
into my small vise, inserted a short length of .047 brass rod
into the tube so the ears would not collapse and drilled into
the center both ears a .021 hole. I then shaped the ears to the
edge of the .047 rod, and cut off the universal end .090 long
from the ear slot. 4 pieces were made. 4 pieces of .047 ! x .007
wall x .090 long brass tubes were soldered into the ends of each
universal. I found some .045 diameter black plastic wire insulation
and inserted it between the universal ears. Using the .021 drilled
holes in the ears as a guide, I drilled though the plastic insulation,
inserted a short length of .020 brass rod though the holes to
secure the plastic tubing. I then cut the plastic tube off 1/32
longer than the ears and pressed another universal end into the
slot and plastic tube. Again using to holes in the ears as a
guide, I drilled though the plastic tube behind the first inserted
.020 brass rod and inserted another short length of .020 brass
rod. I cut off the excess lengths of the .020 brass rods, filed
the ends flat and touched the ends with my soldering iron, leaving
a spot of solder on the ends so the .020 brass rods would not
come out. ONE DONE and IT WORKS ! I soldered in a 1/4'' length
of 1/32 brass rod into the end of the universal which went in!
to the steering box. The steering shaft mount on the rear axle
housing was copied, a short length of 1/32 brass rod with a 00-90
stud soldered to the end was inserted into it and pressed the
other universal joint over the other end of it to check the length
of the shaft. The length between the two universals were measured,
a piece of 1/32 rod was cut to the needed length and on each
end I soldered on the universal joints. I reinserted the shaft
of the steering box universal into the steering box, position
the second universal in line with the steering rear end shaft
mount tube and pushed in the steering wheel shaft. A mocked up
steering wheel was made to check the positioning. The steering
wheel is next to make. This was a real brain burner, but the
results were were satisfying.

The Windscreen on the Shubert
& Herbert AA/FD is one of the unique parts of this car being
taller so "when" the motor starts blowing oil out,
it went over Zane Shubert's head and not get in his beard. Well
that is what he told me. I laid in strips of double sided tape
inside the cowl drivers opening. I position the tape to achieve
the right lay back angle at the front and even radius to follow
the opening. I then cut a line 1/8'' below the the top edge of
the cowl opening, trimmed the top edge to the correct height
and radius cut the ends. The cowl was then placed on the car
to see if the "Look" was correct and trimmed if needed.
The windscreen pattern was then placed on some .010 clear plastic
and cut out. With a .020 drill, equally spaced holes were drilled
along the edge of the cowl starting at the front and drilling
opposite sides every other hole. The windscreen was taped in
position, following the drilling pattern as before, drilling
through the windscreen and inserting .019 brass rod x .250 long.
Once all 32 brass rods were coated with solder 1/8'' on the outside,
they were press into place and super glue on the inside of the
windscreen and the excess rod was cut off. All the exposed outer
ends of the windscreen '' bolts'' were filed down to .010 height
and deburred .

It was time to add some SPARK
to the motor. I went over to Potvin Doug's house and checked
out the Vertex Magneto on his dragster to get dimensions and
wiring pattern of the cap.Thank you to all that responded to
my questions about the details. Starting out with .250 x .015
brass tubing, I turned down the diameter down to the scaled 3.750''
(.235 o.d.) and cut the length off at .350'' for the main body.
Then I scribed a line .032'' from each end. This piece was slipped
over some .218 x .015 x.350'' length brass tubing and then a
piece of .187 x .015 tubing that extended out of one end .125''
for the cap. Pieces of.156 x .015, .125 x .015 x .475'' length
were used to reduce the inside diameter and the last piece of
.093 x .015 x .625 long tubing was inserted extending out of
the other end for the bottom part of the magneto body stem. I
soldered all these pieces together filling the top of the cap
end and filed flat. I then cut a .020 ring of .125 x .015 tubing,
slipped it over the base end .080 from the main body and soldered
it on for the Magneto lock clamp. A .020 hole was drilled in
the side of the body for the Mag wire and inserted a short length
of .019 brass rod for the mag Wire stud. Two rows of 4 @ .020
holes were drilled into the side of the cap and 3'' long lengths
of .018 dia.orange coated wire were glue in each hole. Since
# 1 wire was located at the 4 o'clock ( looking at the Mag from
the top), each wire was positioned by firing order. I needed
to make some spark plug wire looms out of black plastic.....AH
! A 3.5'' Black Floppy disc case was cut apart, a straight edge
was cut and filed flat. I scribed a centerline .020 parallel
to the straight edge, drilled .020 holes along the centerline
and sawing off pieces at .040 wide with 4, 3, 2 holes for the
looms. The ends of each loom were deburred and radius. The spark
plug wires were then slipped through the looms, positioned and
super glued from underneath. The cylinder heads were drilled
and tapped with 00-90 threads for the mounting studs ( aka spark
plugs) and 90 degree Boots made from .047 x .007 wall brass tubing,
tapped 5 rotations leaving a tapered threaded end, bent 90 degrees
and cut off to .062 long. These were screwed into the spark plug
holes. The Magneto wire was made from .018 wire, pressed flat
one end, a .020 hole was drilled through the flat end, filed
into a wire connector loop and soldered on to the Mag wire stud.
Starting with # 1 spark plug wire, each wire was position in
its firing order, cut to length and glued into the spark plug
wire boots. The cap was painted flat black, the 8 white numbered
dots and the rotational dot were made by a few rotation from
a .020 drill. I need a beer after this.

No matter what scale recreation/replica
you're working on, the right pieces make the car come altogether
and satisfies the builder. The parachute pack is the only production
made part on this dragster from Revell's Miss Deal model. The
size and the detail on it was more than I could wish for, almost.
I first filed off the molded in parachute release cable and drilled
a .015'' hole where the pilot chute loop would come out of the
chute pack. To represent the stamped ring on the parachute flap
that the .006'' brass wire pilot chute loop comes out of is a
.005 thick ring of .032 x .007 wall brass tubing. The release
cable and housing was made from .008'' wire with .018'' diameter
black plastic insulation. The end of the release cable was placed
into the pilot chute loop, the ring was next for the loop to
go through, which was pulled through the chute pack hole tight
and super glued on the inside. The next things to add was the
4 elastic strap hardware which consist of the .006'' wire strap
ends that clip over the attachments that are on the chute pack
and the pull tab ears on the elastic straps which were made from
.010 plastic strips. 16 holes at .010 diameter were drilled,
2 for each elastic strap end and 2 each for the 4 attachment
clips on the pack. All the wire attachments were formed, put
through the chute pack holes and super glued on the inside. The
elastic strap wire ends were bent in a "Y" shape, then
the ends of the "Y" were bent 90 degrees, the single
end was clipped over the chute pack attachments and the two other
ends went into the 2 drilled holes at the ends of the elastic
straps and super glued on the inside. The 16 parachute strap
lines were made from metallic/white thread, looped on one end,
and the anchor end is tan painted masking tape . The strap lines
were pulled through a .090 drill hole in the corner seam edge
of the chute pack and super glued on the inside. So next time
you pack a parachute, take a close look at the hardware and think
about 16 times smaller. 34 pieces later.

Last weekend (02-11-05) we went
to the Silicon Valley Scale Modelers Kickoff Classic International
Plastic Modeler Society Sponsored Show. I entered the unfinished
Sherbet & Herbert AA/FD in the Open Wheel Competition Auto
Class against all opened wheel racers. I was just showing for
fun, looking and talking with other modelers there. There were
6 F-1, 2 Indy Cars, 2 Belly Tank Bonneville racers and a model
of the M & S 554 Coupe. in the class. Not only model cars
were there, but models of military vehicles, airplanes, ships,
space vehicles, and any other types of Plastic Hobby subjects
you can build. The quality of these models are at a level where
the models are looked at with flash lights ! One tough group
! I talked with the head guy from the NNL West event and he told
me that in the 19 years of the NNL shows around the nation, that
the Shubert & Herbert AA/FD was the only "unfinished"
model car to be voted as "People's Choice".

The master cylinder was made
up with different sizes of brass tubing starting with .125 diameter
and reducing to .032. Inside of the master cylinder body is a
.008 wire spring that was made by winding around a length of
.047 steel wire. Next I made a plunger out of .062 tubing and
.032 brass rod. The spring and the plunger was then inserted
into the drilled out .064 inside diameter master cylinder body.
A piece of .062 x .015 wall brass tubing was coated with solder
and pressed into each end of the master cylinder body, locking
in the spring/plunger. A piece of .047 x .007 x .032 was slipped
over the end of the plunger shaft and the same size piece was
soldered on the end so it looks like a 1/4 heim joint and lock
nut. The mount is made of .016 brass sheet with 3 holes drilled
into it which the master cylinder presses into. The brake handle
was made from .047 x .007 brass tubing wit! h a 00-90 nut soldered
to the bottom end. A pivot bracket was then made from .016 sheet
with a tapped 00-90 hole and solder in place on the chassis.
I drill a .033 hole through the brake handle, inserted a piece
of .032 brass rod , soldered it in the hole and cut it off to
.075 for the master cylinder plunger shaft pivot. To put everything
together was the tough part without everything falling apart,
breaking and having the brake handle still able to move. I first
positioned the brake handle pivot into the master cylinder shaft
pivot and then aligned the the bottom of the brake handle to
the chassis pivot bracket. I screwed in a 00-90 bolt into the
bottom of the brake handle chassis pivot and through bottom brake
handle pivot. It all works!

I sure wish I could buy a 5-point
seat belt set for this car, but that would be too easy. I went
to a fabric store in search of seat belt material and found 3/16
wide cloth ribbon. All the seat belt hardware was made from .010
brass sheet. The slots for the belts started by drilling .032
holes for the ends of the 3/16 wide slots and then the remaining
material was sawed out with a .005 thick razor saw. The slots
was finished using a flat jeweler's file. I located and drilled
a .020 hole for the buckle insert.The seat belt buckle T-shaped
ends were cut out and filed into shape. The shoulder belt adjusters
have two slots each with an ear on both ends. I drilled a .033
hole into both ears for the belt adjuster bar. I then cut the
adjuster out, shaped it, and then bent the ears 90 degrees to
the slot base. A .025 brass rod was inserted into the ear holes
to make sure the level of the ear holes were even and then cut
and filed the rod to .225 long. The lock-release buckle was soldered
together using 4 different diameter disc of .010 brass sheet.
I then assembled the belts and hardware together like a real
set of belts. The shoulder adjusters work like real ones ! Three
more pieces were made for the belt hardware that adjust the length
and tighten the belts to the chassis. The belts in the picture
are on a 3'' long block.

1-29-05: NNL West Car Model Show
at the Santa Clara Convention Center. We took two cars to the
show, the Loukas & Preising Fuel Coupe and the Shubert &
Herbert AA/FD for it's first public showing. Both cars were well
received and I was surprised on how many model builders have
followed the progression of the S & H replica. The only two
awards give at this show are for "People's Choice"
for the Junior and Adult model cars entered. There were 978 car
models at the show.

03-01-05 - The Tony Nancy Interior
started out with a plastic seat from the Revell 1/16 Tony Nancy
Sizzler Dragster model. I reshaped the seat to fit into the brass
seat insert and cut slots for the seat belts to go through. The
seat belts are mounted and secured with brass seat belt hardware
like the real belts. The top part of the seat that snaps to the
top frame rail is a bottom of a plastic pill container that had
a radius and its shape to fit perfect for this application. I
filed grooves for the pleated sections. I then drilled .020 holes
for the snaps into the seat and the frame tube, press in .020
brass rod, cut and filed down to .010 height for the snap heads.
I added a special detail to the seat, and it is my tribute to
Tony Nancy.

Side view of the snaps. The Tony
Nancy Emblem was hand filed from 3 pieces of .010 brass sheet
that was super glued to a sheet of black vinyl tape. I cut and
removed the excess tape around the outer edges of the emblem
and super glued the Tony Nancy Emblem in position.

Here is what is under the cowl.
The finished driveline struts, clutch pedal, throttle pedal with
Moon linkage, mag switch & wires, brake caliper & brake
line and fuel shut off cable assembly.

Fuel shut-off is made
of 8 pieces of brass.

The body panels are attached
to the chassis with countersunk slot head stainless .038 x 120
screws x .090 long. 8 pieces of .020 x 3/32 x1/8 long brass strips
were soldered on to the chassis with .032 drilled holes in the
center of each piece. The body panel was then taped in place
using double sided tape and then I drilled though the panel from
the inside using the Dzus fastener plate as a guide. After all
the holes were drill though the body panel, the panel was removed
and all the Dzus fastener plates were tapped with a 000-120 thread.
The body panel holes were then countersunk for the screws, positioned
the panel on the chassis and screwed in place.

This was one of the last 10,000
5 minute jobs. The moon throttle cylinder was attached to the
pivot arm and the blower mount. I made a mistake and had mounted
the arm to pivot the wrong way after seeing the recreation at
the March Meet. So when I got home, it was corrected and the
car is finally DONE!

Final thoughts: In my 40 years
of building car models, the Shubert & Herbert Replica has
been my best effort to date. Obtaining the research of this car
was as much fun as building it. I had the honor to talk with
Zane Shubert at the CHRR last year and many emails between Big
Yohns and myself. I wanted this car to be different and challenge
myself to make a replica that hasn't been built yet in this style,
all brass ( 94% ) , and of old world style of preserving a piece
of history. I want to thank everyone who help me create this
Dragster, Ron Johnson for giving me the opportunity.Roger
"Riceman" Lee

Feature Article in
the February 2006 of Scale Auto Magazine
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